The Antiquities of Orissa v1.c10.105

v1.c10.105

It is not to be denied that it is difficult to decide authoritatively the exact form of the female dress which prevailed from twelve to twenty centuries ago in India, but after a careful survey of the sculptures extant, and the notices to be met with in ancient Sanskrit records, I am disposed to believe that bulk of the women of the country wore the *sāḍī*; that all who could afford it, added thereto a bodice; that respectable women put on a jacket (*āngiā*) over the bodice, and covered the whole with a scarf or *cādar*; and that some habited themselves with the petticoat (*ghāgrā*) or the drawers (*pāyjāmā*), along with the bodice, the jacket, and the scarf. These dresses were, however, not common all over India, for local peculiarities and custom undoubtedly gave preeminence to some of them over others at particular places; but they were known and more or less in use by the people in every part of the country.